"OPENING DAY" ON THE OHIO RIVER....

Here we are April fools 2013.....Amidst the pranks and bad jokes, lies the the start of Major League Baseball 2013 along the Ohio River. From Pittsburgh to Cincinnati, the boys of summer will take the field and the announcement of "PLAY BALL" will echo through the river valley. 

The Cincinnati Reds, taking the field since the late 1860's/early 1870's, have a rich heritage in the history of the American past time and now call Great American Ballpark home. The Park, sitting along the shores of the Ohio River, is the summertime home of the Reds. From several vantage points in the park you can see the pleasure boats, kayaks and barges float by as the timeless game moves on. Like the endless stream of water flowing in the River, let's hope the Reds enjoy an endless streak of success with pitching and timely hitting. Go Reds!

Further upriver, along the Allegheny River (which with the Monongahela form the Ohio River), sits the city of Pittsburgh and its major league ball club the Pittsburgh Pirates. While fading at the end of last year, the Pirates enter 2013 with new found hope. The real question (at least in these bloggers minds) is the bullpen. The success of the season will rise and fall in this critical area of the game. We wish our fellow river dwellers success.

The Ohio River area is rife with history of professional sports. While Cincinnati is home to the NFL Bengals, long prior to the Bengals,  Portsmouth, Ohio (between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati) played host to the Portsmouth Spartans. The Spartans joined the NFL in 1930, as the second smallest city to house an NFL Franchise; second only to a team known as the Green Bay Packers. In fact, at the end of the 1932 season, Portsmouth locked up against the Chicago Bears for what many believe to be the first NFL playoff game. Despite the success on the field, the team struggled at the gate and in 1934 was sold and moved to Detroit. Yes, a little Ohio River NFL team is now known as the Detroit Lions. While the Spartans are gone, Portsmouth is a cool river town with a rich history and amazing murals covering its floodwalls. Well worth a boat ride down the Ohio River or drive along Interstate Route  52 (which runs along the Ohio for miles)